Date Night – Creative Dining and Art, Antigua Guatemala

Out of all the Central American countries, Guatemala is the one with the best colonial town – Antigua. That is because of the historic significance and beauty of the place. However, it is also well known for having great restaurants.

The thing is, after visiting so many restaurants in many different countries, good food is not enough for me anymore. I prefer the full-on dining experience which involves much more than just sitting down and having a meal. So I am always looking for that.

During my search for such a place in Antigua Guatemala I found Sobremesa Restaurant. There are three things that I constantly read and heard about this place:

1. Exotic ice cream flavors – They have more than 50 different flavors that you have probably never tasted. But the best thing is that they actually work really well together.2. Alex Ferrar – The owner of the restaurant, an artist and writer who brought his creativity to the kitchen. 3. Art Gallery – Alex is the owner and his work is really the main attraction for me. He has developed a new style which he calls New Millennium Renaissance art. He claims to be self taught, but I would have guessed he learned from the best. His work is phenomenal and incredibly unique.

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The Restaurant and Food

As I mentioned before, Alex is an artist, so you will discover that with every bite comes a lot of ah-ha moments.

Here is a quick look into our reaction to the food at Sobremesa:

I tried to verbalize the flavors but I was not able to find the right words, luckily my husband did: “Explosion of flavor”.

Photo credit: Marina K. Villatoro /Gringa TravelingMom

This was just the appetizers:

Insalata Caprese – It consisted of a tomato confit that is roasted for over six hours with fresh herbs. In the middle of confit was a scoop of basil ice cream. The dish was amazing but the ice cream alone was worth ordering.

Variedad de Tapas – This is the restaurant’s version of a sampler of meats and roasted veggies that comes with unique dressings. They are all delicious alone, but when you put them together something amazing happens which is better described in musical terms. Only an artist can create these flavorful mixes.

The Main Course:

The restaurant is known for their meat platters and the unique sauces accompanying the meat. Some are made with guava, bananas, or blackberries which go on top of beef and chicken.

We decided to try the meat, but there is also a variety of homemade pizzas. I know I will return with my kids to taste them.

Photo credit: Marina K. Villatoro /Gringa TravelingMom

Dessert – Exotic Ice Creams and So Much More:

Sobremesa has two locations, the main restaurant and a small ice cream shop. But you can also order ice cream at the restaurant.

The food was amazing and I already loved the place but after tasting the Basil Ice Cream I was truly hooked.

For dessert I ordered an ice cream which was made of fresh coconut, white chocolate and chunks of hazelnuts.

Recommendation – If for any reason you are not able to go to the restaurant for a full meal, you have to at least head over to the ice cream shop. I have never tasted ice creams such as these.

The Art Gallery

Aside from art works from the owner (which were my favorite), there are also many pieces created by different artists that adorn the walls of the restaurant. If you fall in love with any they are all for sale, so don’t be shy to ask the waiter.

Alex’s writer side is also expressed in some of his paintings. They have a story written about them to explain what you are seeing – creating legends with art.

And if that wasn’t impressive enough, Alex has written ten fiction novels as well.

All I have left to say is that this was my kind of restaurant. Creative food, art work that makes you think, fiction novels and meeting Alex made this an over the top dining experience. Alex is one of the most positive, upbeat, lucky people I have ever met, and his restaurant reflects his positivity through its food and decore.

About Marina Kuperman Villatoro, Gringa TravelingMom

Marina Kuperman Villatoro is CEO of TravelExperta.com, a travel resource site to inspire families to travel with kids of all ages. She's been an expat 10+ years in Central America raising 2 boys in a multicultural, trilingual household. We travel all over the world. Needless to say, it’s never boring! So find out where you can eat, stay and play with your kids all around the world.